What is the future of science in America? What should the US do to preserve and build upon its role as a leader in scientific innovation?

What we need to do is to get people more involved with science. They need to understand its importance to their everyday lives, but more importantly, respect and ASPIRE TO BE the men and women who work in the fields of science and technology.

How can we do this?

Public Awareness Campaigns – I want science to be like serving in the military. However you think of the war on Iraq, we must respec the soldiers who have chosen to serve this country. Likewise, I want our youth to see science is something noble, something that makes this country great, and something they can be a part of.

Expanded programs for getting into science – I think a lot of people might have wanted to become scientists or engineers when they were younger, but then their life moved in another direction. We need to make it easier for people to become scientists and engineers. We need to showcase people who have already done it. We need to create programs and jobs for these “late bloomers”

Getting Scientists into Politics – Only a handful of Congressional members hold degrees in hard sciences. We need to encourage scientists to get into politics because that is the only way science will be taken seriously in the government. In this highly scientific age, we have few law makers and decision makers in the government who understand the issues and what is at stake.

The Takeaway – We need to make science a calling, make it easier for older people to participate, and get scientists into government.

In Ten Ways To Make A Difference, Peter Singer outlines pragmatic ways to create change. The first step he says is to have your finger on the pulse of the public. Know how people are feeling today, and how they could possible feel tommorow. Understand the people.

Now this is no easy task, but one cool tool that I just found can help. It’s called We Feel Fine. Using just a java applet, this site scans blogs for “I feel” and “I am feeling” and displays the results in several cool interactive methods.

The paradox of the human body is that we are such powerful, yet such frail creatures.

Our bodies are capable of incredible feats of strength, flexibility, speed, endurance and power. Just think of olympic weightlifting, contorsionists, sprinters, Lance Armstrong, and karate masters breaking concrete. The things we can do with our bodies should we train ourselves for them, are simply amazing.

At the same time, we are truly frail and sometimes pathetics creatures, especially when you compare us to other animals. We have no exoskeleton, we have no claws or sharp teeth. The same bones that can break concrete when properly applied, can also snap from a simple fall.

What this all comes down to is that we need to respect our bodies. It is often called a machine, a machine that needs proper tuning and oiling to run well. The best part of the human body is that, unlike a car, when you hurt yourself, time can heal the injury. Try doing that with your dented fender.

I guess I’m thinking about this topic because as I get older, I’m facing up to a lot more injuries, even as I increase my ability to perform skills. My back hurts, my shoulder is bothering me. I’m just trying to stay healthy for 2 more years.

This is an important question, and I would like to write something about it, as it pertains greatly to my blog. I'll be considering it throughout this week, and hopefully publish something on Friday. Some thoughts for now:

How can we maintain the level of scientific innovation?

What should be do about declining engineers and scientists?

What can better science education do to solve this?

What can better public awareness of science do?

How can we make grade school teaching a more prestigious and rewarding occupation?

How do get our government to make scientifically sound decisions?

There are a lot of things to consider, but I think we can and we will do it.

PS I watched some videos of Al Gore on the 2000 campaign. Just broke my heart, especially after seeing An Inconvenient Truth. God I wish he had become president.

I find that many people over the age of 70 are boring, slow in speech and in movement, stuck in the past, forgetful, unwilling to think critically or change their habits. This depresses me because

1) I might be there someday and 2) Much of this is preventable. Some of the depressing features of old age are due to the biological effects of aging: your muscles and most aspects of your brain don’t work as well because your body is breaking down. But many features are caused by the decisions that most people make that lead to this depressing old age.

Adults, at least of the last few generations, after schooling, get a job. They learn everything they need to do well at this job and then they pretty much stop learning. The next 30-50 years are spent doing the same activities over and over. It may not be easy, but its just applying the same knowledge and the same way of thinking on a new situation. Then these people retire, and they find themselves spiraling into dementia, senility and often Alzheimer’s Disease.

Now I did say that not all older people have these conditions. One example is university professors. Many professors are very old, 70s, 80s and yet they are nothing like the average nursing home person. Why is this? One reason might be that they are surrounded by students who listen to their lectures and take their tests (something that is proven to boost life expentancy). However, I think a lot it is also because professors are engaged in research. They are actively trying to create NEW KNOWLEDGE. This activity requires the brain to think, a lot. The maxim comes to mind: Use it or lose it. In the case of the brain, this maxim applies to the utmost.

The takeaway: learn new things throughout your life and you will find old age not as depressing as you imagined.

About

Jason Shen

Jason is a PM at Etsy and a partner at Ship Your Side Project. He cofounded a Y Combinator startup called Ridejoy and served as a Presidential Innovation Fellow under President Obama. He holds two degrees from Stanford and set a Guinness World Record in Aztec Push-Ups. Learn more.

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